MONROE - Green Bay Packer Hall of Famer LeRoy Butler knows a little bit about football. He also knows a little bit about the rivalry between the Chicago Bears and Packers.
"When you talk about rivalries, it's the oldest rivalry in football," Butler said Thursday. "You go back to Jan. 2, the last game, 17th week - now you can see why (Bears coach) Lovie Smith wanted to beat the Packers on their home turf, to kick them out of the playoffs. He didn't want to have to face them again. So they threw everything but the kitchen sink.
"But they didn't win. The Packers won. They got into the playoffs, dominated Philly, dominated Atlanta. They won't do the same to the Bears. I knew what the Bears' mentality was: You don't want to play a dangerous team, you've got to get rid of them. And that's what they tried."
In Butler's illustrious career in Green Bay, which ran from 1990-2001, he went to two Super Bowls, winning one with former quarterback Brett Favre. Favre's replacement, Aaron Rodgers, has Green Bay on the brink of another trip, just four years after Favre's last pass in a Packers uniform. That pass was intercepted by the New York Giants in the NFC Championship in 2007. The Giants then went on to beat the previously undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
"After 2007, I said to myself 'I don't know when these guys can get back here,' because Brett (Favre) left and it was time for Aaron (Rodgers) and no one knew what to expect from him," Butler said. "So it was just one of these things that we didn't know what directions to go."
Butler gives credit to general manager Ted Thompson, whose draft picks and free agent deals have Green Bay back in the limelight, and away from Favre's shadow.
"I think Ted Thompson did a great job. The plan was to build, so you just build and develop your team through the draft and things of that nature. He used free agents here or there, but he's built most of it through the draft. In the last four years he's brought this team back to the NFC Championship game," Butler said.
But to get to Super Bowl XLV, Green Bay has to go through Chicago. Despite being the NFL's oldest rivalry, the two franchises last met in the postseason in 1941, with Chicago coming out on top.
"Ultimately, it should be a low-scoring game," Butler said. "The best team is going to win."
Butler also discussed the controversy of the playing surface at Soldier Field, which is believed by many players to be the worst turf in the NFL.
"People talk about the turf - no big deal. If you're All-Pro, you're All-Pro on every surface," Butler said.
However, Butler did say that the game could come down to penalties. In a Week 1 loss to Chicago, the Packers were flagged an astonishing 18 times.
"You make mistakes like the Packers did the first game - 18 penalties - you'll probably lose. But it you play hard and you play smart like the second game, you'll have a chance to win," Butler said.
Kickoff is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. and can be viewed on FOX.
"When you talk about rivalries, it's the oldest rivalry in football," Butler said Thursday. "You go back to Jan. 2, the last game, 17th week - now you can see why (Bears coach) Lovie Smith wanted to beat the Packers on their home turf, to kick them out of the playoffs. He didn't want to have to face them again. So they threw everything but the kitchen sink.
"But they didn't win. The Packers won. They got into the playoffs, dominated Philly, dominated Atlanta. They won't do the same to the Bears. I knew what the Bears' mentality was: You don't want to play a dangerous team, you've got to get rid of them. And that's what they tried."
In Butler's illustrious career in Green Bay, which ran from 1990-2001, he went to two Super Bowls, winning one with former quarterback Brett Favre. Favre's replacement, Aaron Rodgers, has Green Bay on the brink of another trip, just four years after Favre's last pass in a Packers uniform. That pass was intercepted by the New York Giants in the NFC Championship in 2007. The Giants then went on to beat the previously undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
"After 2007, I said to myself 'I don't know when these guys can get back here,' because Brett (Favre) left and it was time for Aaron (Rodgers) and no one knew what to expect from him," Butler said. "So it was just one of these things that we didn't know what directions to go."
Butler gives credit to general manager Ted Thompson, whose draft picks and free agent deals have Green Bay back in the limelight, and away from Favre's shadow.
"I think Ted Thompson did a great job. The plan was to build, so you just build and develop your team through the draft and things of that nature. He used free agents here or there, but he's built most of it through the draft. In the last four years he's brought this team back to the NFC Championship game," Butler said.
But to get to Super Bowl XLV, Green Bay has to go through Chicago. Despite being the NFL's oldest rivalry, the two franchises last met in the postseason in 1941, with Chicago coming out on top.
"Ultimately, it should be a low-scoring game," Butler said. "The best team is going to win."
Butler also discussed the controversy of the playing surface at Soldier Field, which is believed by many players to be the worst turf in the NFL.
"People talk about the turf - no big deal. If you're All-Pro, you're All-Pro on every surface," Butler said.
However, Butler did say that the game could come down to penalties. In a Week 1 loss to Chicago, the Packers were flagged an astonishing 18 times.
"You make mistakes like the Packers did the first game - 18 penalties - you'll probably lose. But it you play hard and you play smart like the second game, you'll have a chance to win," Butler said.
Kickoff is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. and can be viewed on FOX.
